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Saturday, August 5, 2017

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received
information about the extra-judicial attempt to kill Mr. Bodhipakshage
Manjula Prabath Wijewardana a residence of Aranayaka in Kegalle. He was
waiting on the road, in front of the Mayurapada Central College in
Mawanella Town at 10:30 a.m. on 13 June 2017. Unexpectedly, the Police
directly fired at him shooting him in the leg and causing him to fall
down. Police transported the victim by police jeep to the Mawanella Base
Hospital where he was admitted for emergency treatment. No
investigation has yet been carried out regarding the attempt on his
life. The Police claim they were in the process of arresting Manjula.CASE NARRATIVE:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information about the
case of Mr. Bodhipakshage Manjula Prabath Wijewardana of Nisansala,
Arama, Aranayaka in the Kegalle District.

At 10:30 a.m. on 13 June 2017, Manjula was waiting on the main road, in
front of the Mayurapada Central College in the Town of Mawanella.
Without warning several police officers appeared in front of him, took
aim and directly fired at him. Manjula’s left leg was hit and he fell to
the ground. Later he was brought by police jeep and admitted to the
Mawanella Base Hospital for emergency treatment.

Before the shooting, Manjula was not aware that the police officers were
going to arrest him. He was not ordered by the police to obey their
orders. Manjula did not know of any reasons why the Police would
abruptly, without warning, directly shoot at him. He was not given any
reason for his arrest or shown an arrest warrant. Police failed to
produce any evidence that they tried to arrest him in a peaceful manner.
Manjula respectfully states that he never tried to escape from being
arrested by the Police.

A Police Communiqué was issued, stating that Manjula escaped being
arrested by the Police. They never produced any independent evidence
that there was a legally issued arrest warrant against him. No facts
were submitted showing that Manjula tried to run away and prevent the
officers from arresting him.

The family members of Manjula maintain that the Police attempted
to extra-judicially kill their relative. This is another indication of
the faulty Policing System in Sri Lanka. It extra-judicially kills
innocent suspects under the guise of crime prevention.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported numerous cases of
arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and extrajudicial killings of
citizens at the hands of the Sri Lankan police. Under international and
local law, these are illegal actions. They have been taking place daily
at police stations all over Sri Lanka. It is common knowledge that the
Police use torture as an instrument to terrorize innocent people, harass
the general public and instill fear. Presently, the Police are
implementing a policy of ‘elimination with extreme persuasion’ or in
plain language--murdering suspected criminals. They arrest and kill
people without their ever being produced in a Court of Law.

Needless to say, there is a lack of protection for those lawyers willing
to take up cases against abusive Police Officers and State Authorities.
This means that the Law continues to be employed as a tool by the
authorities to control the population. By undermining society’s respect
for the Law and allowing impunity to go on unabated, a long-term,
psychological and financial burden is placed on the shoulders of
victims, their families and society in general.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Authorities listed below expressing your concern
about this case. Kindly request an immediate investigation into
allegations of an attempted extra-judicial killing by the Police.
Prosecution of those proven to be responsible under Criminal Law is
imperative. The officers involved should also be subject to an internal
investigation for breach of Police Departmental Orders. The AHRC will
write a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial,
Summary or Arbitrary Executions in this regard.